sick hen with horribly swollen eye and gray mass growing...what to do?

[MoodyChicken]

Quote:
How old is she? I had my 1st hen, "Henny Penny" live for 11 yrs after I got her (at an unknown adult age).
The liquid Amoxi (pink bubble-gummy smelling stuff they give children) is pretty cheap - $8-15 - but you'll need a RX for it. Same for Baytril (a little more $) - usually in pill form. Do you know of a vet (large or smalll animal) that could set you up? I know people do, but I don't recommend Terrramycin (available at any feed store) because it's "broad spectrum", which, while it sounds like a good idea, is difficult to know how much the bird has actually consumed. You're supposed to mix it in their water (by the gallon), but you never know much they're drinking, whether enough medicine is getting into the system. I also have my concerns of "antibiotic resistance" issues with the Terramycin). If it's an abcess, and you can lance, clean, and treat the wound - maintaining a CLEAN environment, you may not need antibiotics. She should definately be in a CLEAN environment if you choose to treat an abcess situation (My spare bathroom is my ISO/recovery ward). Good luck!

Terramycin is so overused it probably wouldn't do any good in this case. Infections this severe need the heavy duty stuff to get it under control. I love Baytril, great stuff, lots of uses. Whenever I need amoxicillian I just call up my vet, state my reasons, and she leaves some in a cooler for me to pick up and I leave the money in a box.

 

[dewess]

Quote:
not at all. the eye is mostly a bit wet, sometimes she has a clear discharge from her sinus.

 

[melissaowens]

that is the same problem i had with my flock. ALL my red chickens got that and ended up dying even though i tried to do everything to cure them. eventually their mouth swells to where no liquids or food will go down. i have been trying to find out what this is and whats causing it for the longest.

i dont understand why it is only my red chickens that are getting it. all others is fine so far.

 

[shay20]

Quote:
not at all. the eye is mostly a bit wet, sometimes she has a clear discharge from her sinus.

Oh ok, I was thinking eye worms, but you would see the same puss up inside the mouth.
But to be sure you can always try vetrx,
You dunk a q-tip in the vetrx in, in her mouth on the roof of her mouth, you put the q-tip, if you dod it the right way, waht happens is, if it was eye worms you would see the vetrx solution push out the puss.

They have the directions in the box of the vetrx.

Good luck with your girl,
But it does sound more like she has a very bad infections inside the cheek.

 

[chickenbottom]

i recommed keeping her on soft foods so its easier for her to swallow and prob less painful

 

[chickNjake]

Be sure to quarantine her, I had something like that a few years ago and it was very infectious! I was able to get it under control with bio-mycin 200. it's for horses and pigs, but you give them 1cc, that's the dosage equivalent to a 10lb hog and if you catch it early enough it goes away. . when I had it, it infected 8 or 9 of my birds, focusing on the younger ones. if it went for ling enough, the didn't make it.

here were mine r.i.p

 

[MoodyChicken]

Quote:
Sounds like you had a case of Canker or Coryza. Those are gross nasty diseases. Easy to recover from if you can keep their airways open. But they usually suffocate before you can do anything. Are the red chickens new?

Fortunately OP, if none of your other hens have gotten sick after (3 weeks did you say?) I would venture to guess that it is a spontaneous bacterial infection that won't spread. Still, isolate and watch your other birds for symptoms.

 

[melissaowens]

i tried to keep their airways clean, and gave them meds for this, but it didnt help. mine looked exactly like the pics show

 

[sammi]

what med did you give melissa?

what your hens had is different then the poster's hen..

dewess...you might contact Peter Brown at:

http://www.firststatevetsupply.com/

or at featherfanciers..
(for the meds)

amoxi and baytril won't be in the store part of first state..
email and contact info there on the home page.
you will need to contact him..best to go to featherfanciers..
he might be able to guide you.

dlhunicorn (member here) might have direct contact info..

 

[melissaowens]

we tried duramycin, and la 200

if you catch it before it gets too bad a 1 cc shot of la 200 will cure it, but if it gets to where their eyes swell shut, and discharge coming out their nose, it wont work